Historical Figure
Francis Bacon
1561–1992
English philosopher and statesman (1561–1626)
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Biography
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of natural philosophy, guided by the scientific method, and his works remained influential throughout the Scientific Revolution.
In Their Own Words (5)
Pyrrhus, when his friends congratulated to him his victory over the Romans under Fabricius, but with great slaughter of his own side, said to them, "Yes; but if we have such another victory, we are undone".
No. 193 , 1624
Like strawberry wives, that laid two or three great strawberries at the mouth of their pot, and all the rest were little ones.
No. 54 , 1624
For a man to love again where he is loved, it is the charity of publicans contracted by mutual profit and good offices; but to love a man's enemies is one of the cunningest points of the law of Christ, and an imitation of the divine nature.
Of The Exaltation of Charity , 1597
Knowledge, that tendeth but to satisfaction, is but as a courtesan, which is for pleasure, and not for fruit or generation.
Valerius Terminus: Of the Interpretation of Nature (ca. 1603), in Works, Vol. 1, p. 83; The Works of Francis Bacon (1819), Vol. 2, p. 133 , 1819
Let great authors have their due, as time, which is the author of authors, be not deprived of his due, which is, further and further to discover truth.
Book I, iv, 10 , 1605
Timeline
The story of Francis Bacon, told in moments.
Born at York House near the Strand in London. His mother was fluent in Latin and Greek. She worried constantly about his health.
Entered Trinity College, Cambridge at age 12. Left after two years. He called the curriculum "barren of the production of works for the benefit of the life of man."
Published his first edition of Essays. Ten short pieces on truth, death, and ambition. He revised and expanded them for the rest of his life.
Novum Organum published. It proposed that knowledge should come from observation and experiment, not ancient authority. He called it "the new instrument."
Convicted of accepting bribes as Lord Chancellor. Fined 40,000 pounds and banned from office. He admitted guilt but insisted the bribes never swayed his judgments.
Died at Highgate of pneumonia. The story goes that he caught cold while stuffing a chicken with snow to test refrigeration. He was 65.
Artifacts (2)
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount Saint Alban
Simon van de Passe, c. 1595 - 6 May 1647
Frontispiece from Thomas Sprat's "The History of the Royal Society of London"
Charles II, King of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales|Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans|Thomas Sprat|William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker|Wenceslaus Hollar|John Evelyn
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